Women robbed at gunpoint in case of mistaken identity

BEMIDJI, Minn. (KMSP) - Two women were robbed at gunpoint early Monday morning near Bemidji, Minnesota after the suspects mistook them for the people that stole their money in a drug deal.

According to the Beltrami County sheriff’s office, a pregnant woman was picking up her mother at her house to drive to work when the pair was approached by three men that had been following the car.

The one of the men pointed a gun at the two women and demanded money. When the women refused, the men ran back to their car and fled the scene.

The women were not injured, but one of them was taken by ambulance for complications possibly related to her pregnancy.

Authorities located the vehicle a few blocks away and arrested five people without incident.

An investigation revealed the armed robbery was the result of a case of mistaken identity. Two of the men were looking in the area for a vehicle driven by someone they had been trying to buy drugs from earlier that night. The drug dealer took their money, but did not deliver the drugs and had been driving a dark-colored SUV similar to that the women had been driving.

After threatening the women and demanding the money that had been taken from them earlier, the men quickly realized they had followed and approached the wrong SUV.

The five people are being held at the Beltrami County Jail. The incident remains under investigation.